SOUTH Craven people are being urged to have their say on North Yorkshire County Council’s budget.

An annual online consultation has been launched.

Residents are encouraged to go to northyorks.gov.uk/yourservicesyoursay and give their views.

County council leader, Councillor Carl Les, said it was important that people had an input.

“By 2020 we will have around 40p less out of every £1 to spend than we had in 2010,” he added.

“This is both as a result of decreased central funding and a significant increase in demand for services.

“Every year we spend £255 million on adult social care and public health, £107m on children and young people, £39m on highways and £50m on waste disposal. Forty-seven per cent of our £529m budget now comes from council tax to pay for these and many other vital services.

“With uncertainty around future funding and the wider economy, we need to decide whether we increase council tax and if so by how much.

“We want people to share their views before we set our budget for next year.”

The first part of the consultation includes eight multiple-choice questions.

Comments should be submitted by January 13.

The budget will be discussed at a full council meeting the following month.